Month: July 2016

I’ve been a bit obsessed with Korean fried chicken lately and went down to 1 Utama just now to check out KyoChon. My better half went with the kids when I was back in Sibu and told me that it’s quite decent. She had a mixed platter and thought the Honey Series are great. KyoChon is an international Korean fried chicken chain that started in South Korea but now has branches all over the world, including the United States, and now, Malaysia.

KyoChon recently started serving 1/2 and whole chickens but they used to only have drums, breast strips or wing + drumlet combos. I was eating by myself this afternoon so I couldn’t order the whole chicken. I went with the drumstick option since I prefer a whole leg to Buffalo chicken wings. The pricing is RM 18.50 for 8 pieces of wing and drumlets or RM 11.50 for 2 pieces of drumsticks. KyoChon also serves fresh, unfrozen chicken so it’s not tacky like fast food.

Soy Garlic Series (RM 11.50 for 2 drumsticks + RM 6 for combo)

I made this a meal with an RM 6 upgrade. It comes with steamed rice, salad, soup, and a drink. The rice costs RM 3.90 separately so adding RM 2 for soup, salad and a drink is an awesome deal. KyoChon takes at least 15 minutes to get your order ready since they’re cooked to order. It actually took more like 20 for my order to come but it’s worth it. The drumsticks are much smaller than I had thought so it’s a good thing I ordered two sets. I wouldn’t have been willing to wait for another 15 min just to add on an item.

Red Pepper Series (RM 11.50 for 2 drumsticks)

I’ve seen a lot of Korean mukbang hosts eat these drumsticks. They’re real drumsticks from the legs e.g. not the smaller drumlets from the wing. However, they’re a lot smaller than what you’ll expect. I’m not sure why this is the case…maybe they use smaller chickens? One portion isn’t enough for a person, unless you’re a small eater. I actually thought these were full sized drums and planned to eat 3 and take away 1 coz I thought I’ll be full but I ate everything in the end and was less than full.

KyoChon is a good option for mall dining. I like how the Red Pepper Series is reasonably spicy and mildly Tabasco hot sauce like sour. It’s my favorite sauce. The rice they serve looks like Korean short grain rice but tastes less sticky, like a hybrid of local and Calrose rice. It’s not as good as the ones we had over the weekend. Honestly, the Korean fried chicken we had at Chicken House in Mont Kiara was a lot better too. However, RM 31.90 for lunch, inclusive of their wonderful beetroot salad dressing and the thirst-quenching Natural Sparkling Yuzu Fruit Tea, is a reasonable price in a shopping complex.

My better half told me she wanted to eat Korean fried chicken today. It seems that her consumption of Korean dramas has resulted in a craving for Korean food. I’ve been watching a lot of mukbang (eating videos) lately and have felt the same longing for Korean chicken so we drove down to Mont Kiara to eat some yangnyeom tongdak. I’ve been to Korea twice (and ate dog meat in Busan) but I seldom yearn for their food.

Chicken House is owned and operated by a Korean expat living in Malaysia. The Korean owner greeted us when we went in and took our order. The restaurant does take away and delivery (much like in South Korea) but they have a nice air-conditioned area for dine-in customers too. Chicken House uses whole chickens and you can order 1/2 or whole chicken.

Soy Sauce with Garlic Chicken (RM 55 per chicken/RM 35 for half)

This is their flagship seasoning and the best one we had. It came swimming in soy sauce and garlic and the seasoning is spot on! It’s deliciously umami. My dear said the chicken is fresh and not frozen too – she can tell from the color of the bones. We got a half chicken and it comes with a neck (!) too. The twice fried chicken is really crispy but still tender and juicy in the middle.

Sweet Chilli Sauce Chicken (RM 50 per chicken/RM 32 for half)

I originally wanted their hot chilli sauce chicken but the owner warned us that it’s very spicy. My better half can’t eat spicy food so I changed it to the sweet chilli sauce instead. The drum is delicious! I like the breast and thigh meat that has been chopped into smaller pieces too. You can eat it by itself but since it was lunchtime, we ordered rice to go with it.

I really enjoyed the pickled radish they serve with the fried chicken too. It’s sour and sweet and reminds me of takuan in Japan. It makes eating the mildly greasy chicken easier since the cold pickles cleanses your palate. I’ve seen mukbang BJs eating this when consuming loads of ramen coz it neutralises heavy flavors. Awesome stuff.

The meal came up to RM 82.95 for the two of us, inclusive of drinks. I had an iced coffee and my dear had the interestingly named Bong Bong (some kind of grape drink with real grapes inside) for RM 7 each. I thought the steamed rice was a little expensive at RM 10 though (RM 5 per pax) but the meal itself was wonderful and the overall price is about the same we’ll pay for breakfast at a cafe. I love the Korean fried chicken at Chicken House, we’ll definitely be back for more dak!

I’ve never even heard of a Margarine Durian before so I was very intrigued when Lindsay told me about it. I thought it was a derivative of the Butter Durian or Susu Durian from Penang. She came down to KL just now and we headed to Say Heng to check out the Durian Margarine.

It was raining very heavily and we were sitting under a tarp beside the highway to try this.

The Margarine Durian went for RM 25 per kg. It has a thin stalk and rather slim spikes.

The flesh looks really good too. We got a couple of these, one of them was 0.7 kg and the other 1 kg so they’re quite small specimens.

I liked the taste but it was completely overshadowed by:

This D88 which Lindsay brought from Bentong! It was amazingly complex – very bitter and sweet, lots of stuff happening on your palate. I love rich and bitter durians like this. It’s perfection.

They also had a very young Musang King. It looks really nice but the taste is a little one dimensional. It’s cloyingly sweet and I would have loved it if I had eaten it as the first durian, or if I wasn’t so full. I had a bit of trouble finishing it but when I think about it now, it’s actually not too bad.

Lindsay and Sasha (it’s a Russian abbreviation of Alexander, as I found out) came with loads of durians. They’re both vegan so this is all they eat. I joined them and ate it for dinner too, although I was slightly sick from so much durians at the end. Haha. They brought along heaps of durians in their car and she bought some at the stall too. It was good to catch up though and I really like eating durians so it’s all good. Thanks for all the durians Lindsay!

I was shopping with my better half over the weekend when we saw Sari Ratu Prima. I know that place, I told her. They had just opened up a huge branch opposite my condo in Kota Damansara earlier in the year and it’s just about the only decent halal food (not counting mamaks) in my area. My dear isn’t keen on Malay food but I come here quite often.

Technically, Nasi Padang is Indonesian food and the Sari Ratu Prima brand comes from West Sumatra. I would call them a higher end halal eatery, with air conditioned comfort and the prices to match. The people are friendly and the best part is that the dishes come out all hot. Unlike chap fan or nasi kandar, the protein and vegetables are either reheated or cooked to order, making it a lot more delicious.

I come here for their deep fried fish. I used to work with government ministries a lot, and had a client who was really into “ikan berdiri”. It means “fish that stands up” in Malay and basically he wants it fried whole in a certain way that makes it defy gravity. Sari Ratu Prima does this quite well. There are a lot of other dishes which you can pick from as well.

Gulai Kambing (RM 13.65)

This is Indonesian style mutton curry and the priciest meat on their menu. I didn’t even realize that I had such expensive taste. Haha. All kidding aside, mutton always costs more than chicken or beef. There are quite a lot of bone-in pieces so it’s great value. I like their gulai too – it’s mild and creamy, not overly spicy. I think my dear can eat this if she liked the flavor combinations more.

Sayur Kailan (RM 5.50)

This is supposed to be RM 5.50 but I got it for free. I’m not exactly sure how that works, but if you order above a certain price for 1 pax, the workers have some kind of leeway to deduct the lowest priced item (usually a vegetable) from your total. They do charge full price for rice though (RM 2.20). It comes in a pyramid shape like a famous Kota Kinabalu chicken rice shop.

Jus Durian (RM 8.90)

This is a very creamy milkshake made with vanilla ice cream and durian flesh. It’s quite good and I like to order it whenever I come to Sari Ratu Prima. They also have an avocado fruit juice called Jus Alpokat for RM 10.50. However, you can get the avocado juice for free in their RM 12.90 weekday lunch deal (told you they have strange pricing) so I recommend doing this instead.

Ikan Nila Goreng (RM 25)

This is a whole fish deep fried until crispy. The nila fish has little bones to speak of so you don’t have to worry about getting any stuck to your throat. It’s also served piping hot since it’s cooked to order. I love the fish here. Their sauce is excellent too – it’s a mixture of sweet soy sauce and sambal and it goes very well with the fried fish. This is what I usually come for.

Sari Ratu Prima also has a RM 12.90 weekday lunch deal where you can get a few items + a drink which is quite good value. The bill came up to RM 55.20 when I ate here last but the fish made up 1/2 of the total. The reason everything tastes so good here is coz they follow the “cukup rasa” philosophy – all the dishes are overspiced and oversalted, including the fried fish. I had a sodium headache so bad that I had to go to sleep after the meal! It was still worth it though.

The thing I like about Japan is that most of their shops, regardless of whether they sell ramen or omurice, have a running popularity board. This allows the shops to display which item is #1 selling on their menu and the customers to know what the place is known for. We saw this Ice Cream Factory in Sapporo after buying toys for the kids and since my better half loves the ice cream in Hokkaido, we got a couple of cones to eat.

Ice Cream Factory is one of those cold plate/stone places e.g. your ice cream and condiments is mixed in sub zero temperatures before being served to you, in this case -30 Celsius. My dear wanted to get a simple swirl ice cream and I did pause to wonder why she’s ordering something that’s not their specialty but I know she just wants to save money. I did order their #1 bestseller though. Haha. I thought it’ll be nice to order an ice cream that’s mixed on the cold slab instead of just served.

Come to think of it, the wait staff have to put up with a lot nowadays. There are a lot of people taking photos of them working, and expecting them to serve up a picture perfect dish to boot. I can’t imagine being a waiter nowadays, although fun fact, I was one for a few months when I first went to Melbourne for my college.

My order is their Sweet Berries which came with an assorted local cranberries, blackberries, strawberries, redcurrants and blueberries mixed together with strawberry and vanilla ice cream. I love the use of winter berries and the cold stone places do it well coz the ice cream doesn’t melt on the super chilled slab, but incorporate tighter instead. It’s as if a machine made it in factory with the berries intact.

Sweet Berries is 750 yen (about RM 30) which is what you’ll expect to pay locally for an ice cream of this size and magnitude too. I love the creamy ice cream and the best part is that it’s not very sweet. The berries contrast nicely by giving off an acidic burst too. The crunchy cone is also fresh and nice and there’s a spoon to eat everything with.

My dear got the more pedestrian Mix Ice Cream (chocolate and vanilla swirl) for 230 JPY (about RM 10) which came out of a machine instead of being mixed like mine. Good stuff! We also bought a lot of random stuff in addition to toys for the kids. I went to the gachapon machines a few times and devoured the Love Live merchandise they had at Japan Post and my dear got some Doreamon stuff too since the movie came out at the time we were in Hokkaido.

I’ve always looked forward to Ramadan. It’s the time when families and individuals have the chance to showcase their food to the public. These are people who don’t have restaurants, cafes or stalls – just regular folks cooking and selling their food at Ramadan bazaars across the country. I like the idea of trying out random people’s cooking and I’ve been eating at Bazaar Ramadan almost every day. Here are my favorites:

Bubur Lambuk

This is a classic Ramadan specialty. It’s usually given away to the poor in mosques, but obviously this is a more premium version. The porridge is full of root vegetables like yam and the shredded chicken and fried anchovies they put on top is awesome. It’s RM 4 for a small tub at Bubur Lambuk Subang at the Subang 2 Ramadan Bazaar.

Putu Piring Zainab Gula Melaka

This is one of my favorite putu pirings around. Check out the massive queue which forms up around it!

The putu piring is a steamed confection made on the spot. It’s RM 0.60 per piece and it’s really good.

Nasi Kerabu

The distinctively blue rice in nasi kerabu comes from butterfly pea flowers. This stall in Subang serves it with a relatively large fried fish and superbly hot chilli sauce. The amount of chillies they put in here would shock most people. The woman who runs it is from Kelantan and has a suitably authentic level of spiciness in her chilli paste.

I like her crunchy ulam (raw vegetables and herbs) too.

Pak Ya Popia Power

This is the famous stall at the Bazaar Ramadan in TTDI. They have three (3) kinds of popiah – popia basah, popia goreng and popia sira madu. It’s RM 5 for 5 pieces. I like their popia basah (wet popia) and popia sira madu (honey glazed popia). The first one is made with regular popiah skin and the latter is fried and drizzled with a honey glaze. The popia goreng (fried popia) is decent too but these two are the best.

Murtabak Maggi

I first had this in 2008 when I came to KL to work the second time. This is from Bazaar Ramadan Kelana Jaya, where my first office used to be. They make the murtabak with Maggi instant noodles and stuff lots of meat and vegetables inside. It’s just RM 3 for a heart shaped piece.

It best eaten when hot, these things taste horrible when they’re cold.

They give you a generous pack of chilli sauce to put on top too.

Puding Karamel Original

This is a creme caramel from the SS6 bazaar. It’s RM 3 per slice or RM 5 for two. The quality varies wildly – sometimes it’s delicious and other days the pudding is overcooked and egg-like while the caramel tastes burnt.

I guess that’s one of the things about home cooks. When it’s good, it’s great.

Lompang Labu

This unusual dessert is made from pumpkins. There are 10 pieces in a pack for RM 5, together with some desiccated coconut. I found it at TTDI. It’s surprisingly good!

Nasi Briyani Johor

There is a well known nasi briyani gam stall in TTDI that used to be good. However, I feel that their quality has dropped in the past few years and the other two competitors have surpassed the original. Rahimah Catering serves a pretty good version of lamb biryani for RM 13 at the very end of the TTDI bazaar Ramadan. There’s one in the middle that serves up awesome bone-in lamb shank biryani for RM 20 – RM 22 (depending on size) too.

Lai Chee Kang

It’s RM 5 for a small container or RM 10 for a big bag. The TTDI Lai Chee Kang stall says it has 28 ingredients. I was dubious. I thought it’ll be 20 different types and colors of jelly. I was mistaken.

This is legit. I dug and ate dates. Saw some barley. Cincau. Peanuts. Snow fungus. The best thing inside was nutmeg, they had lots of that too! Truly epic.

Nasi Tomato

My favorite one is at the Kota Damansara Bazaar Ramadan. It’s only RM 5 for the Nasi Tomato Ayam Merah (tomato rice with red chicken). The owner of the stall is the wife of a police officer that lives in the low cost flats opposite AEON BIG in Sunway Giza. The first time I had it, I thought she had accidentally dropped a whole fucking bowl of salt into the chicken.

I told my better half about this amazingly salty chicken I had and promptly had diarrhea the next day. Haha. I’m sure it’s unrelated though as I’ve had it many times since without incident. I asked the lady about the shockingly salty chicken and she told me she does it on purpose coz her husband likes it that way. That’s why she only gives you a small amount of gravy coz the amount of sodium in there is enough to kill a small horse. It’s the saltiest thing I’ve ever had…and the best!

Ikan Bakar Special

There are many smoked/grilled fish stalls in bazaar Ramadan all over the country and most of them sell pretty much the same thing. The one in TTDI just has a wider selection than most and you’ll spot it by the epic lines which form up to buy a catfish or a skate. The prices vary according to what you get but it’s quite competitive.

Nasi Ganja Omak Den

The guys who runs this stall offers free drinks with your meal. They only sell one dish – nasi ganja omak den, and they do it well. The chicken is fried on the spot and you can choose the cut you want. The rice is spiced and they serve an Indian style gravy to go with it. I love the heavily spiced chicken and it’s good value for just RM 6.50 inclusive of the drink of the day (usually air sirih or air somboi).

The word “ganja” is the local term for cannabis. There’s none in here of course and the etymology of the name is somewhat stupid, it’s meant as a testament to it’s “addictiveness”, never mind that THC/CBD isn’t physically addictive.

Nasi Ambeng

Nasi ambeng is a dish of white rice topped with fried coconut flesh so it tastes like coconut rice. They also put fried bee hoon, salted fish, and vegetables as sides. The main protein is usually chicken cooked in soy sauce. I was home late one day and chanced across this dodgy stall at Kota Damansara with two young boys manning a small booth with about 10 servings to sell. I took a chance and ordered one and it was delicious!

Sup Gearbox

This stall in TTDI serves only cow offal. There are plenty of offcuts for sale – tongue, tripe, heart, lungs etc. You can have it with rice, in kueh tiaw or in a soup. I prefer it in a soup. It’s one of the best sup gearbox I’ve had. You’re supposed to suck the marrow out of the large bone.

Nasi Burung Puyuh

I love quail. I usually get it at Shah Alam but the one at TTDI is decent too (and a lot nearer to me). It’s RM 5 per quail or RM 7 if you want rice to go with it. I recommend the rice pack, their chicken rice is delicious!

The lady will give you a tasty broth to go with the rice too, nicely packed in a plastic bag to go.

The biggest Bazaar Ramadan in Klang Valley is probably the bazaar in Shah Alam Stadium but TTDI and Kelana Jaya is pretty big too. I would say TTDI has more choice than SS6 but even the small ones in Subang 2 and Kota Damansara has something to offer. The stalls are all about bringing home cooked food from families as a purchasable option before Hari Raya and that’s the part I love the most about this month. It sure was good eating, too bad we only have a couple more days before it ends!

Unfortunately, this place doesn’t open until quite late. I believe they start at 11 pm or 12 pm which is quite unusual, but on the other hand, they stay open until midnight too. There were heaps of university students around since the campus is right beside. Mee Ketam KL is quite popular with the student crowd due to their very affordable prices for flower crabs.

The signature Mee Ketam KL is served with flower crabs for RM 9.50. You can swap in mud crabs for a base price of RM 5 (for the noodles) and RM 6.50/100 gram (for the mud crabs). Udang galah (big head prawn) is priced at RM 9/100 g. They also serve cooked crabs with rice for the same price. You can choose from various methods of cooking including curry, buttermilk, red sauce etc.

My dear wanted to try their ketam nipah masak cili (mud crabs cooked with chilli) which was recommended. The owner came out with a selection of fresh mud crabs on ice cubes and you’re supposed to select the one you like to be weighed on the spot with a portable machine. I got the second largest one for 600 grams, which cost RM 39. I saw a lot of people eating this same dish with rice, even though they’re known for noodles.

Mee Kari Ketam (RM 9.50)

This is their flagship dish. It’s a whole flower crab on top of their curry noodles. Mee Ketam KL uses thick yellow egg noodles and it goes quite well with the crab. The curry broth is very mild and more like a soup. I could detect lots of roe and random crab bits inside the curry though which is a huge plus point – it made the noodles all the more awesome. It was decent but not very strong flavored, to my disappointment.

Ketam Nipah Masak Cili (RM 39)

My dear had this one and it comes with rice. OMG! If my dish was bland, this would be the polar opposite. The chilli sauce is fiery! The thick, starchy sauce is translucent, which makes you think it’s mild, but it’s filled with Thai bird eye chillis. It was salty, spicy and sweet at the same time. I couldn’t stop eating my better half’s sauce. It was the best crab I’ve had in my entire life!

We had brought along our own crab pick for this visit. I first saw them when I was eating King crab and snow crab in Busan, Korea. It was really good for picking at the flesh and when we saw them in Hokkaido during our Japan trip earlier this year, we got a whole bunch of them to use. I gave a set to her parents too and this was the first time we had the chance to use these magnificent crab picks. Haha.

Mee Ketam KL serves decent curry noodles but I feel that the true standout dish is their ketam masak cili. If you like spicy and flavorful food, you’ll love this dish. It may be somewhat too spicy for people who can’t take peppers though, my dear had a bit of trouble with the dish. The stall is actually quite small, but they have an outdoors seating area of wooden tables. The entire meal, including drinks, was just slightly over RM 50 but if you don’t order mud crabs, this place is actually very affordable.